Yesterday when I got home the low wall forming our front courtyard was more than half completed. The stone masons are back this morning finishing up. What a wonderful job they are doing! The stone we chose is a multi sized cultured stone, pinkish sandstone colour with dark mortar. They will cap it with a long sheet of angelstone. This was something that was in the original 1957 house blueprints and we decided to add it into our landscaping renovations.
Scott arrives this afternoon with a transport of topsoil to spread on the backyard around the deck and pond so we can plant grass seed. Then EVERYTHING will be DONE.

Hey, there in Calgary. I heard that it was snowing there this weekend, or was that only in Kananaskis? We are all cheering like crazy for the Flames. That was quite the site to see every fan sitting in the stands at the Saddledome in Flames jerseys. I’m going out to look for t-shirts or car flags to show our support over the series. The city must just be one big party. The streets will be deserted come gametime on Tuesday.

Yeah, the long awaited 2-4 weekend :>)
Yesterday, Jean and Bill arrived shortly after 4 p.m. for their yearly visit to Canada. They made good time inspite of dark skies, a torrential downpour and hail. What a home coming!
Continue reading →

The other day I came home with two garden figures to commemorate Pride and asked the boys to pick which one they liked. They said that they wanted to keep both. They are nestled in the garden as a happy reminder and memory for us. I also got a surprise phone call from the Vet to come and pick up his ashes. I asked that he be cremated but I didn’t know that I was going to get the ashes (for a cost). Well here they are, proudly displayed on the mantle.

We opened the pool today to our surprise it was bright green. This has never happened to us before. We got a new winter cover, the style that is like a trampoline and is a security blanket as opposed to a winter cover. The sun light gets through the meshing and guess what? The algae loves the heat build up under the blanket. It is the perfect environment for frogs, tadpoles and fish. Nick is busy working on the tiles that fell off over the winter. I’ll look out for the Great Blue Herons that may be doing the flyby.

Thursday night I brought home some nice fish for our pond. I purchased two gold fish and three shubunkin (poor man’s koi). They seemed very happy in the pond and explored all the nooks and crannies among the rocks. They loved to dart back and forth under the waterfall and taking turns chasing one another back and forth the length of the pond. It must of been a great feeling to be out of the crowded aquarium they came from.

This morning there was no one to be found. We had an early morning visitor that had a preference for fresh fish for breakfast. Our new pets had become a delicious early morning snack for a great blue heron. While we were looking for our fish this morning, the local heron was making another sortie run overhead. Tough luck for us and our short lived pets.

Today the weather was like a glorious summers day. NO SNOW! Just hot, humid weather. If our pool was open you could have gone swimming. The flowers are all blooming and our new Magnolia tree was transplanted at just the right time. It had time to settle and it even decided to bloom this year. It is such a beautiful time of year to remember our Mom (we are thinking about you). I ran around the yard today and took a few pics after the chemical emissions scare was lifted. I battened down the hatches and waited it out until the evacuation standby was given the all clear. The mishap was around the Clarkson Go station so we were within danger range of the chemical effluent and smoke plume that was released into the air.

Today Tom ventured down to Windsor to look for lawn furniture and he came home with a Beauty! It is the set Nick took pictures of from HBC. Thanks Eileen… you have impeccable taste. Yeah… Tonight we will assemble it and have Caesars by the pond.

Last night was nice and balmy so for a pre-Mother’s Day treat, Laura tended to our first ever campfire with our new landscaping. It was nice sitting around the fire pit with the sounds of bubbling water and night creatures all around us.

Today we had Irene out to join us for a mid day luncheon feast of fresh fruits, home made breads, and a baked casserole. To top it all off Laura brought out her scratch Strawberry Angelfood Cake with whipped cream topping. Jaclyn tried repeatedly to call Martha and finally got her chance to wish her and Grandma a warm and happy Mother’s Day. See continue link for a few snapshots.
Continue reading →

On April 21st our little Pride died. He was 12 years old and he basicly died of old age as his organs just failed him. He began to get weaker and weaker and was not eating or drinking. The vet kept a very positive outlook on his illness but I could tell that he was in a downward spiral. We all knew that he was near the end and we were able to say goodbye and prepare for the final loss. He did not suffer and I held him on my lap that entire evening. He literally just fell asleep. Nick had taken the boys to an Icedogs game and he died while they were away.
I have included a picture of Pride sitting in the sun. I bathed and brushed him the day before he died. My intuition I guess. This was my way of saying goodbye. I discovered something the other day that I found to be very interesting. Pride died on the same day that we adopted him.